IT-214 Midterm Practice Test Question Bank 1

Database programming languages receive all application requests and translate them into the complex operations required to fulfill those requests.

False

Structural dependence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file structure without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.

False

The DBMS reveals much of the database’s internal complexity to the application programs and users.

False

Which of the following is an example of structured data?

A spreadsheet

A ____ database supports data distributed across several different sites.

distributed

To reveal meaning, information requires ____________________.

context

Within the database environment, a data model represents data structures with the purpose of supporting a specific problem domain.

True

Business rules are derived from ____.

a detailed description of an organization’s operations

Each row in the relational table is known as an entity instance or entity occurrence in the ER model.

True

The ____ model was developed to allow designers to use a graphical tool to examine structures rather than describing them with text.

entity relationship

____ are normally expressed in the form of rules.

Constraints

The hierarchical model is software-independent.

False

A(n) ____________________ in a hierarchical model is the equivalent of a record in a file system.

segment

In an SQL-based relational database, each table is dependent on another.

False

Tables must have the same attribute characteristics (the columns and domains must be compatible) to be used in a UNION.

True

____ logic, used extensively in mathematics, provides a framework in which an assertion (statement of fact) can be verified as either true or false.

Predicate

The practical significance of taking the logical view of a database is that it serves as a reminder of the simple file concept of data storage.

True

Referential and entity integrity are two names for the same thing.

False

PRODUCT yields all possible pairs of rows from two tables—also known as the ____________________ product.

cartesian

The SELECT operator yields a vertical subset of a table.

False

In an outer join, the matched pairs would be retained and any unmatched values in the other table would be left ____.

null

In a natural join, the column on which the join was made occurs twice in the new table.

False

Fortunately, the problems inherent in the ____________________ relationship can easily be avoided by creating a composite entity.

M:N

The ____________________ relationship is the relational database norm.

1:M

Relationships operate only in one direction.

False

A relationship is an association between ____.

entities

If an entity can exist apart from one or more related entities, it is said to be ____-independent.

existence

The ER model refers to a specific table row as an entity occurrence.

true

You should always load data from the 1 side of a 1:M relationship.

true

In the original Chen model, each attribute is represented using an oval with the attribute name connected to the entity with a line.

true

Derived attributes are stored in a special database table.

False

____ attributes can have many values.

Multivalued

In Chen notation, there is no way to represent cardinality.

False

____________________ are underlined in an ER diagram.

Primary keys

A specialization hierarchy can have ____ level(s) of supertype/subtype relationships.

many

The completeness constraint can be partial or total.

true

The “____” characteristic of a primary key states that:
The PK should not have embedded semantic meaning. An attribute with embedded semantic meaning is probably better used as a descriptive characteristic of the entity rather than as an identifier.

nonintelligent

At the implementation level, the supertype and its subtype(s) depicted in the specialization hierarchy maintain a ____ relationship.

1:1

____ is a generic entity type that is related to one or more entity subtypes.

an entity supertype

A(n) ____ is the attribute in the supertype entity that determines to which entity subtype each supertype occurrence is related.

subtype discriminator

The price paid for increased performance through denormalization is a larger amount of

redundancy

Normalization works through a series of stages called ___________________ forms.

normal

A table that has all key attributes defined, has no repeating groups, and all its attributes are dependent on the primary key, is said to be in ____.

1NF

A table is in BCNF if every determinant in the table is a foreign key.

False

A ____ derives its name from the fact that a group of multiple entries of the same type can exist for any single key attribute occurrence.

repeating group

Normalization is a process that is used for changing attributes to entities.

False

Repeating groups must be eliminated by making sure that each row defines a single entity.

True

A good relational DBMS excels at managing denormalized relations.

False

____________________ exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage characteristics without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.

Data independence

Raw data must be properly ____________________ for storage, processing and presentation.

formatted

A desktop database is a ____ database.

single-user

A(n) ____ database is designed to support a company’s day-to-day operations.

transactional

We are now said to be entering the “knowledge age.”

true

____ relates to the activities that make the database perform more efficiently in terms of storage and access speed.

Performance Tuning

Most data you encounter is best classified as ____.

Semistructured

An operational database is sometimes referred to as an enterprise database.

False

When you can change the internal model without affecting the conceptual model, you have ____________________ independence.

logical

Business rules apply to businesses and government groups, but not to other types of organizations such as religious groups or research laboratories.

False

MySQL is an example of a(n) ____.

relational data model

A(n) ____ is a restriction placed on the data.

constraint

The ____ model was developed to allow designers to use a graphical tool to examine structures rather than describing them with text.

entity relationship

The object-oriented data model was developed in the ____.

1980s

The ____________________ defines the portion of the database “seen” by the application programs that produce information from the data.

subschema

In a relational model, if A determines B, C, and D, you write A = B, C, D.

False

If the attribute (B) is functionally dependent on a composite key (A) but not on any subset of that ____ key, the attribute (B) is fully functionally dependent on (A).

composite

____________________ is the real power behind the relational database, allowing the use of independent tables linked by common attributes.

JOIN

A(n) ____________________ is an orderly arrangement used to logically access rows in a table.

index

Date attributes contain calendar dates stored in a special format known as the ____ date format.

Julian

The ____________________ relationship is the relational database norm.

1:M

Since it is used to link the tables that originally were related in a M:N relationship, the composite entity structure includes—as foreign keys—at least the ____ keys of the tables that are to be linked.

primary

In the context of a database table, the statement “A ____ B” indicates that if you know the value of attribute A, you can look up the value of attribute B.

determines

Codd’s rule of ____________________ states that every value in a table is guaranteed to be accessible through a combination of table name, primary key value, and column name.

Guaranteed Access

All RDBMSs enforce integrity rules automatically.

False

Complex ____ requirements may dictate data transformations, and they may expand the number of entities and attributes within the design.

information

Identifying the attributes of the entities helps you better understand the ____________________ among entities.

relationships

Failure to understand the distinction between mandatory and optional ____________________ in relationships might yield designs in which awkward (and unnecessary) temporary rows (entity instances) must be created just to accommodate the creation of required entities.

participation

An attribute representing one or more college degrees belonging to a person would be a(n) ____________________ attribute.

multivalued

Knowing the ____ number of entity occurrences is very helpful at the application software level.

maximum and minimum

____________________ are underlined in an ER diagram.

primary keys

Instead of storing a person’s age, it is better to store the date of birth and use the difference between that value and the system date as a(n) ____________________ attribute.

derived

____________________ attributes can be subdivided.

composite

Some ____________________ database modeling concepts can be expressed only using the Chen notation.

conceptual

The ERM forms the basis of a(n) ___________________________________.

ERD, Entity Relationship Diagram

The default comparison condition for the subtype discriminator attribute is the ____ comparison.

equality

In specialization hierarchies with multiple levels of supertype/subtypes, a lower-level supertype inherits all of the attributes and relationships from all of its upper-level subtypes.

False

From a data modeling point of view, ____________________ refer to data whose values change over time and for which you must keep a history of the data changes.

time-variant data

____ relationships occur when there are multiple relationship paths between related entities.

Redundant

____________________ completeness means that every supertype occurrence must be a member of at least one subtype.

Total

The most common design trap is known as a(n) ____________________.

fan trap

If a table has multiple candidate keys and one of those candidate keys is a composite key, the table can have ____ based on this composite candidate key, even when the primary key chosen is a single attribute.

partial dependencies

Atomic attributes are attributes that can be further divided.

False

Some very specialized applications may require normalization beyond the ____.

4NF

____________________ refers to the level of detail represented by the values stored in a table’s row.

Granulairty

The most likely data type for a surrogate key is ____.

Numeric

From a strictly database point of view, ____ attribute values can be calculated when they are needed to write reports or invoices.

derived

A table that is in 1NF and includes no partial dependencies is said to be in ____.

2NF

The DBMS reveals much of the database’s internal complexity to the application programs and users.

False

A(n) ___________________________________ is a collection of programs that manages the database structure and controls access to the data stored in the database.

DBMS

Data ____________________ is a discipline that focuses on proper generation, storage and retrieval of data.

Management

One disadvantage of a database system over previous data management approaches is increased costs.

true

___________________________________ is a special language used to represent and manipulate data elements in a textual format.

XML

____________________ is data about data through which the end-user data are integrated and managed.

Metadata

____________________ exists when it is possible to make changes in the data storage characteristics without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.

Data independence

A(n) ____________________ develops when all required changes in the redundant data are not made successfully.

anamoly

In _________________________, a three-pronged symbol represents the “many” side of the relationship.

Crow’s Foot notation

The relational data model was developed in the ____.

1970s

A(n) ____________________ is a representation of the relational database’s entities, the attributes within those entities and the relationships between those entities.

relational diagram

The ____ model uses the term connectivity to label the relationship types.

entity relationship

In the ____ model, each parent can have many children, but each child has only one parent.

hierarchical

MySQL is an example of a(n) ____.

relational data model

The terms data model and database model are often used interchangeably.

True

A(n) ____ model represents a global view of the database as viewed by the entire organization.

conceptual

Tables within a database share common attributes that enable the tables to be linked together.

True

A foreign key must exist in both tables that have a relationship.

False

A left outer join on tables CUSTOMER and AGENT yields all of the rows in the CUSTOMER table, including those that do not have a matching value in the AGENT table

true

Date attributes contain calendar dates stored in a special format known as the ____ date format.

Julian

Depending on the sophistication of the application development software, nulls can create problems when functions such as COUNT, AVERAGE, and SUM are used.

true

A proper understanding of the concept and use of keys in a relational database model is very important.

true

____________________ relationships can be implemented by creating a new entity in 1:M relationships with the original entities.

M:N

A(n) ____________________ key can be described as a superkey without unnecessary attributes.

candidate

____ relational type is the “relational model ideal.”

1:M

A ____ relationship exists when an association is maintained within a single entity.

unary

An entity is said to be ____-dependent if it can exist in the database only when it is associated with another related entity occurrence.

existence

Attributes cannot share a domain.

False

A ____ identifier is composed of more than one attribute.

composite

Knowing the ____ number of entity occurrences is very helpful at the application software level.

maximum and minimum

In the original ERM described by Chen, relationships do not contain ____________________.

attributes

The step, ____, occurs first in the process of building an ERD.

Create a detailed narrative of the organization’s description of operations.

A design trap occurs when a relationship is improperly or incompletely identified and is therefore represented in a way that is not consistent with the real world.

True

Composite primary keys are particularly useful as identifiers of composite entities, where each primary key combination is allowed ____________________ in the M:N relationship.

once

At the implementation level, the supertype and its subtype(s) depicted in the specialization hierarchy maintain a ____ relationship.

1:1

The property of subtype discriminator enables an entity supertype to inherit the attributes and relationships of the subtype.

False

The relationships depicted within the specialization hierarchy are sometimes described in terms of “is-a” relationships.

True

The property of ____ enables an entity subtype to inherit the attributes and relationships of the supertype.

inheritance

An attribute that is part of a key is known as a(n) ____ attribute.

prime

The combination of ____________________ and ER modeling yields a useful ERD, whose entities may now be translated into appropriate table structures.

normalization

Normalization represents a micro view of the entities within the ERD.

True

An example of denormalization is using a ____ denormalized table to hold report data. This is required when creating a tabular report in which the columns represent data that is stored in the table as rows.

temporary

A table that is in 2NF and contains no transitive dependencies is said to be in ____.

3NF

A table is in BCNF if every determinant in the table is a foreign key.

False

If database tables are treated as though they were files in a file system, the _____________________________________________ never has a chance to demonstrate its superior data-handling capabilities.

RDBMS

Because a partial dependency can exist only if a table’s primary key is composed of several attributes, a table whose ____________________ key consists of only a single attribute is automatically in 2NF if it is in 1NF.

primary

____ is the body of information and facts about a specific subject.

knowledge

A(n) ____________________ is a specific request issued to the DBMS for data manipulation.

query

A ____ is a logically connected set of one or more fields that describes a person, place or thing.

record

The ____ serve(s) as the intermediary between the user and the database.

DBMS

A(n) ____________________ develops when all required changes in the redundant data are not made successfully.

data anomaly

____________________ exists when the same data are stored unnecessarily at different places.

data redundancy

Structural dependence exists when it is possible to make changes in the file structure without affecting the application program’s ability to access the data.

False

Database programming languages receive all application requests and translate them into the complex operations required to fulfill those requests.

False

A(n) ____________________ is a collection of similar objects with a shared structure and behavior.

class

Which of the following is true of business rules?

They can serve as a communication tool between the users and designers.

A(n) ____ is bidirectional.

relationship

In the ____ model, the user perceives the database as a collection of records in 1:M relationships, where each record can have more than one parent.

network

The term ____________________ is used to refer to the task of creating a conceptual data model that could be implemented in any DBMS.

logical design

To be considered minimally relational, the DBMS must support the key relational operators ____, PROJECT, and JOIN.

SELECT

Codd’s rule of ____________________ states that every value in a table is guaranteed to be accessible through a combination of table name, primary key value, and column name.

Guaranteed Access

The relational model’s creator, E. F. Codd, used the term relation as a synonym for ____.

table

If the foreign key contains either matching values or nulls, the table that makes use of that foreign key is said to exhibit ____________________ integrity

referential

Because the relational model uses attribute values to establish relationships among tables, many database users correctly assume that the term relation refers to such relationships.

False

All primary key entries are unique, and no part of a primary key may be ____.

null

In both the Chen and Crow’s Foot models, an entity is represented with a rectangle containing the entity’s name.

True

The ____ type of attribute cannot be created in a DBMS.

multivalued

Attributes may share a ____.

domain

A ____ attribute can be further subdivided to yield additional attributes.

composite

A ____ relationship exists when three entities are associated.

ternary

The Crow’s Foot model is more ____________________-oriented than the Chen model.

implementation

The ____________________ refers to a specific table row as an entity instance.

ERM

An entity cluster is formed by combining multiple interrelated entities into ____.

a single abstract entity object

Partial completeness is symbolized by ____.

a circle over a single line

The ____________________ constraint specifies whether each entity supertype occurrence must also be a member of at least one subtype.

completeness

____ data refer to data whose values change over time and for which you must keep a history of the data changes.

time-variant

The extended entity relationship model (EERM) is sometimes referred to as the ____.

When a nonkey attribute is the determinant of a key attribute the table is in 3NF but not _________________________.

BCNF

Data redundancy produces ____.

data integrity problems

A table is in BCNF if every determinant in the table is a foreign key.

False

An atomic attribute ____.

cannot be further subdivided

A diagram that depicts all dependencies found within a given table structure is known as a(n) ____________________.

dependency diagram

Normalization works through a series of stages called normal forms. For most purposes in business database design, ____ stages are as high as you need to go in the normalization process.

three

In _________________________ no row may contain two or more multivalued facts about an entity.

4NF

Accurate, relevant, and timely information is the key to ____.

good decision making

A workgroup database is a(n)____ database.

multuser

A(n) ____________________ focuses primarily on storing data used to generate information required to make tactical or strategic decisions.

data warehouse

A(n) ____ represents a particular type of object in the real world.

enity

A manager and a programmer usually have the same view of the same data.

False

An implementation-ready data model should contain a description of the data structure that will store the end-user data.

True

Because the relational model uses attribute values to establish relationships among tables, many database users correctly assume that the term relation refers to such relationships.

False

The ____________________ catalog can be described as a detailed system data dictionary that describes all objects within the database, including data about table names, the table’s creator and creation date, the number of columns in each table, the data type corresponding to each column, index filenames, index creators, authorized users, and access privileges.